When I Became A Sophomore
by sourpatchkid
Summary: When I became a sophomore, band took a whole new meaning. This is my story. Names have been changed, but the events are still as accurate as possible. From one band geek, to another.


When I Became A Sophomore   
Introduction   
  
Band. Who knew that band would actually teach you something about life? Well, obviously, not me. I've been in band since fourth grade. You know what that does to you? To have music, notes, band, instruments, the whole nine yards pounded into you from age nine?   
  
I don't think I really started to take band seriously until I entered high school. Actually, to tell you the truth, I didn't start to take it seriously until my sophomore year. I don't know what happened, but it just kind of clicked. It's like when you get a headache. It just kind of happens and you can't really prevent it. Ok, so maybe that was a bad example, but you know what I mean. It's like I woke up one morning and decided that I actually wanted to go somewhere with band.   
  
But I should probably tell you a bit about me before I go any farther. My name is Riley McKenzie. I'm 5'6", which is pretty short compared to most of my friends. At the time this story takes place, I was a sophomore in high school and was at the tender age of 15. I had medium length light brown hair and blue-green eyes. I had contacts, but never felt the need to wear them. I'm kind of different, if you know what I mean. Not different in a bad way, but more like you'll never find anyone else quite like me. I'm unique, all in all.   
  
Well, as I said, it all started in fourth grade when I joined band. I chose the clarinet. When I had been a little squirt, I'd look up at all the older kids when they had band concerts and I fell in love with the clarinet. So, as a result, I played, and still do, the clarinet.   
  
I went to a private school, so we didn't have a primary band class. Our band director, Mr. Jedinski, also directed all the other private schools in the area. So when we'd have concerts, we'd all get smashed together. I remember some of those. Once, there had been an oboe player and my friend Alice Durstrong (I'm still friends with her right now, by the way) and I had been so astounded with how hard it looked, that we actually asked her about it. She was probably two years older than us, but still gave us the time of day. That was my first taste of what band people are REALLY like.   
  
So, the years went by and in sixth grade I transferred to a different school in the area. I had been heartbroken when I moved. I was positive that I'd have no friends and that everyone there was going to be so different. That's what six years of private school can do to you.   
  
Anyway, our band director at the new school was Mr. Wilson. Let's just say that no one liked him by the time we got out of middle school. I had continued with the clarinet and was very ahead of the rest of the clarinetists in the band, since they all had started in sixth grade and I had two years on them. However, it seemed as though Wilson had something against me, because I was stuck with second-to-last chair all through middle school.   
  
Middle school was also the time where I found some of my closest friends. Alice also had transferred when I did, so we were both glad that we had each other in the big, bad public school system. There's nothing more comforting than an old friend when you can't find the lunchroom or when the gym teacher bullies you.   
  
In seventh grade, I experienced my first real crush. I had fallen for him, and I had fallen hard. It was pretty sad, actually, how infatuated I was with this boy. He was the same age as me, but seventh-graders are petty, and our grade was the biggest clique-happy crew around. If you didn't have a circle of friends, you were no one. Well, this boy was in one of the more "popular" cliques, compared to me. Well, of course, that didn't matter at all in my mind. You just knew that the two of us were destined for each other. I don't want to go into the gory details, but let's just say that he embarrassed me greatly at a dance, so I lost respect for him and most of his friends. Respect, by the way, I haven't gained back.   
  
Anyway, I had also aquired some close friends over the years. I've had rocky friendships, smooth-ride friendships, and non-existent friendships. I'd gotten into fights, arguments, and disagreements. I'd trusted people I shouldn't have trusted and hadn't put enough trust into my true friends. I had more best friends than anyone else I had known, and most of those people I was friends with are now just casual acquaintances.   
  
And all along the way, there was band. When I had been "promoted" to high school, band had a whole new meaning. It meant marching, competition, and fun. Band in middle school had just been something I did in my free time. In high school, it became a way of life and you had little choice about it being in your life.   
  
My freshman year had been pretty educational. It was pretty much just to get used to what was going on. Our band director, Miss Jackson, had been fresh from college and you could just tell by how she looked at us that she had high expectations and couldn't wait to start. We had a lot to learn and she was ready to start teaching. She was serious about what she was doing and wasn't afraid to tell us what she really thought. I remember when we had gotten our field show right the first time. She cried. I don't know if it was out of relief that we had finally done something right, or if it was because she was proud of us. I'm hoping it was that because she was proud.   
  
Anyway, freshman year was something else. I learned that band, while sometimes very serious, was a lot of fun and joking around. I learned to love riding the bus to football games and field trips. I learned that band people are probably the best people in the world. I learned that after a while, you can feel at ease with just about anyone. I learned that you have to act like yourself if you truly want to get by. Throughout most of my freshman year, I pretended to be someone I wasn't, and I regret that now. I felt that I had to have the right clothes and hair or I wouldn't have any friends. I felt that I just had to wear make-up or I wouldn't fit in. I felt that I could only hang out with certain people, and, in doing so; I shut out some of my true friends. I tried to be the biggest prep out there, mainly because the majority of our school was like that. I was picky and choosy about everything and I went along with the crowd.   
  
But that all changed when I became a sophomore. 


End file.
